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Characterization of precipitation and temperature equilibrium and its driving forces in the Yangtze river basin under climate change

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Abstract

Global warming has severely affected the climate in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB), resulting in complex and varying meteorological and hydrological processes. Therefore, identifying the effects of climate change in the YRB is important for characterizing the affected meteorological and hydrological processes. In this study, the characteristics of climate equilibrium were analyzed and the natural drivers of climate change in the YRB were explored using precipitation and temperature data from 1961 to 2018. The major findings can be summarized as follows. (1) Significant spatial and temporal differences in precipitation and temperature occurred. For example, annual precipitation showed a decreasing trend in the middle reaches but a significant increasing trend in the headwaters area and lower reaches. Between 1981 and 2001, annual precipitation and temperature exhibited overall increasing trends as well as abrupt changes. (2) Temporal changes in precipitation were primarily low in the middle and lower reaches and high in the headwater region of the YRB, although a low precipitation concentration degree (CD) occurred in summer in the upper reaches. High temperature changes over time mainly occurred in the headwater region of the YRB, although a high temperature CD occurred in winter in the northern parts. (3) Different teleconnection indices affected precipitation and temperature in different seasons. In particular, the Niño 3.4, North Atlantic Oscillation, and North Pacific Index had a significant influence on precipitation and temperature. This study provides critical information for revealing the changes in meteorological and hydrological processes and potential influencing factors in the YRB.

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Data availability

Meteorological data are supported by China Meteorological Administration (available at http://data.cma.cn). Teleconnection indices are provided by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (available at https://climatedataguide.ucar.edu/climate-data).

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Funding

This research was supported by the Visiting Researcher Fund Program of the State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science (2020SWG01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430000, China

    Peng Yang & Jun Xia

  2. Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Ecology and Environmental Change, School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Peng Yang, Heqing Huang & Yanchao Zhu

  3. Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Yongyong Zhang

  4. Information Center of Department of Natural Resources of Hubei Province, Wuhan, 430071, China

    Jiang Li

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  1. Peng Yang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by JL and YCZ. The first draft of the manuscript was written by PY and YYZ. JX and HQH performed as the program administration and all authors commented and on previous versions of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Peng Yang or Yongyong Zhang.

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Yang, P., Zhang, Y., Li, J. et al. Characterization of precipitation and temperature equilibrium and its driving forces in the Yangtze river basin under climate change. Clim Dyn 61, 5861–5873 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-023-06888-3

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